Special education and Section 504 advocates for Pinellas County Public Schools families in St. Petersburg.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
The job is plain. An advocate knows what services the school owes your child and asks for them in writing.
Most of the work happens before anyone sits down in a St. Petersburg conference room.
During a St. Petersburg IEP meeting an advocate writes down what the team agrees to and asks for it in the document before anyone leaves the room.
Pinellas County Public Schools keeps progress data on every goal in the plan. Ask for it as a table of dates and numbers rather than a paragraph.
No advocate in this directory lists St. Petersburg as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Florida, and each card names the city.
Based in Wesley Chapel, FL
Special Education Advocate
With 24 years of experience in the K-12 sector, I serves as a Student Support Specialist specializing in academic and behavioral ESE services.
Based in Leesburg, FL
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Based in Hialeah, FL
Advocate
Hello! I look forward to helping families and their students get the crucial support they need. I have varied experience working with families and educators at the state and local levels.
These advocates are not based in Florida. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Las Vegas, NV · works with Florida schools
IEP Consultant
Hey there! I’ve been a special education teacher for nearly a decade, so helping unique learners thrive is truly my life’s work.
Virtual · based in Bloomington, IL · works with Florida schools
Founder & Advocate
Jade is a former special education teacher who has taught everything from pre-k all the way to transition classrooms with students up to age 21.
Virtual · based in Lamar, CO · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
I’ve been a science teacher, a Director of Financial Aid, and a Dean of Students at a rural community college — always at the table with students and families navigating systems not built for them.
Pinellas County Public Schools met 40 of 64 state special education indicators in the most recent Florida report.
Charter and magnet enrollment changes who owes the service. Ask which agency is responsible before the first meeting.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The clock that matters starts when you sign consent. In Florida it runs 60 calendar days.
Bring the last two report cards and the current plan. That is usually enough paper to start.
Florida gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 30 days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, which takes written state complaints from parents.
Attorneys are licensed. Advocates hold no license, and the difference matters most when a case gets close to a hearing, which is the point where the St. Petersburg district starts talking to its own lawyer.
Advocates who work Orlando and here see the same state rules twice a week. Repetition inside one state is the practice worth paying for.
Hiring an advocate does not pause a deadline or undo a meeting that already happened. The work starts from wherever the St. Petersburg file sits today.
What worked for a family in Orlando may not fit yours. Ask the advocate what is different about your file before you copy anyone.
Video is normal now. 23 of the advocates listed for St. Petersburg work with families by phone or video instead of driving to the school.
Read a profile for what the advocate actually did, not for what the profile claims. Case detail is the tell.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in St. Petersburg, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What is the hourly rate for a parent advocate?
Rates run $75 to $250 per hour. What moves the number is experience, the type of case, and whether anyone has to drive to the meeting. Profiles here show the rate when the advocate publishes one.
Can I hire a virtual advocate if we live in St. Petersburg?
Yes, with one condition. The school has to agree to the meeting format, so put the request in writing before the date is set.
Does Pinellas County Public Schools cover every St. Petersburg address?
Most St. Petersburg families work with Pinellas County Public Schools. Charter and magnet enrollment can change which agency owes the service, so ask that question before the first meeting.
Can an advocate help with a 504 plan and not an IEP?
Yes. Section 504 work looks the same as IEP work, which is records, a written request and somebody in the room who knows what the school already agreed to.
Which plan covers therapy and specialized instruction?
An IEP provides specialized instruction and related services under IDEA. A 504 plan provides accommodations under a civil rights law and does not require specialized instruction. Eligibility rules differ, so a child can qualify for one and not the other.
Official Florida links for parents in St. Petersburg.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Hialeah, Tampa and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
Start with two calls, not six. Ask each advocate what they would do first with a St. Petersburg file, and hire the one whose answer is specific enough that you could write it down as a task.
Two questions sort most of this out. What would you do first with this file, and what does that cost.
